Twentyfive going on Sixteen
by joybella
Summary: They thought that being a demigod was hard, now that they're older they long for the days when all they had to deal with were monsters and world destruction. Trying to be normal was never easy for any of them.
1. Nightmares

**As promised, a new story but this one is darker and for a more mature audience. It takes place years after the war against Gaea, most of the demigods are in their mid-twenties. Because of that you should expect things such as sexual content, drinking, swearing but it won't clog the plot (they're not all druggies and drunkers). They're obviously older now and some have to deal with more mature situations. I will put a warning for sexual content in the beginning of the chapter if it's need it, just in case you feel uncomfortable about reading it. I'll be rating it M for now until it actually gets more graphical.  
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**Do not ask me about the pairings, you will have the chance to get your share of everything from Percabeth to Jasper to Leyna to Peo to Preyna to Jeyna -takes deep breath- You know what? Just think Glee haha. Obviously the story has nothing to do with Glee but there will be a lot of breaking up and making up. **

**I'm pretty excited about this story, haven't felt like this in a long time and plan to update faster than most of my current fics. The idea kind of got me addicted, it's more mature than anything I've written before (not that I have a problem writing mature content but I never actually had the patience to do it) so that obviously gets me motivated.  
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**I don't own PJO and HoO, the great RR does, however.**

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><p>Leo lay in bed with an arm comfortably tucked under his head, brown orbs fixing themselves on the ceiling of his room. Well…their room now, ever since Reyna moved in with him a few months ago. He stared at his girlfriend who was sleeping peacefully beside him. It always kind of amused him that she fell asleep right after sex. Didn't girls usually stay awake with that dreamy look on their faces and watch their loved ones drift into the world of dreams? Then again since when was Reyna a normal girl? He guessed she really tried her best to leave behind that life of a demigod and focus on the role of your average mid-twenties woman but it didn't always work.<p>

Reyna was pragmatic, organized, goal oriented in other words everything that Leo wasn't. His place used to be a mess where you couldn't get to the bathroom until you walked through the maze of dirty laundry, blue prints and tools. The only thing he had in his fridge were cans of beer, leftovers from gods know when and a pair of frozen boxers (do not ask him how they got there or why he never bothered to take them out). Everything changed when Reyna started living here. The apartment was always clean, there was food in the fridge (even fresh vegetables!), his clothes had a peachy smell because of the detergent she used but Leo didn't mind it. He wasn't like most guys who would complain about his personal space and keeping things as he liked them. Who the hell wanted to live in a complete mess anyway? It wasn't a style a living that he enjoyed but more the kind of environment that he never bothered to change. Therefore, if anything, he should feel grateful to Reyna for reminding him what his clean floor looked like.

He should be grateful to Reyna for many things actually. When he first met her he immediately got a crush on her. After the quest to defeat Gaea she started to return his feelings and before he knew it he had the honor of calling her his girlfriend. They've been dating ever since and Leo had to admit that if it wasn't for the brunette girl, that seemed to be a constant in his life, he would have lost his mind after all the horrors he had seen during the war. Days with Reyna were peaceful and joyful, uneventful most of the time but he guessed that he had his share of action as a demigod, enough to last him a lifetime. She made him laugh when she would stick the tip of her tongue out in order to concentrate better. She made him smile when she drew smiley faces with ketchup on his food. She made him smirk when she put on that red lipstick that turned her into the sexiest little thing he had ever seen.

Reyna loved him, madly, deeply and truly, and he used to feel that way about her too. Used to was the problem now. What exactly happened to that flame that she ignited inside of him years ago? Leo still cared for her, she still made him happy, but there was someone else on his mind as of recently. A certain Aphrodite girl with ever changing eye colors, whose smile could lit up a whole room and make every dark cloud disappear from the sky. Leo knew, he knew too well, that he was a disgusting little man who slept in a bed whit a woman that loved him but he fueled a crush for a girl that he'll never have. He had accepted that his feelings for Reyna were not the same as in the beginning the problem was what he could do to change that. What in the world could he do in order to stop feeling this way for Piper who was going to marry Jason soon?

It was ironic that such news, who shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, still managed to get such interesting reactions from a small group of demigods gathered in an Italian restaurant. Piper announced it happily, Jason looked uncomfortable, Leo put his best (fake) smile on, Percy gave Annabeth a certain look, Annabeth shifted in her chair, Reyna congratulated them in an awkward way and it seemed that only Frank and Hazel were genuinely happy for the two.

Usually such announcements made the other couples wonder about their own relationships. Will we ever get married? Will we ever move into a big house in the suburbs? Will we ever have kids? Well except if you were Frank and Hazel whose relationship seemed to be taken out straight from a Disney movie.

Reyna shifted in her sleep and mumbled something while nuzzling further in Leo's chest. The young man heaved a sigh and kissed the top of her head softly. 'Please remember', his conscious pleaded him, 'Please remember why you loved her and don't do anything stupid to ruin this'. The best thing he had in his life ever since the death of his mother and he was walking on thin ice ready to fall into cold water. What a great awakening from such a devastating nightmare in which he played the infidel.

"What's wrong, baby? What's bothering you?"

Nothing was bothering her because she believed she was sleeping in the arms of a man who'll always be by her side. He prays to all the gods that things will stay like this forever but he knows just how fickle Aphrodite is. He was walking further and further away from her and she had no idea. She woke up each morning to make him breakfast, she greeted him with that sweet smile, she kissed his lips and silently promised to love him forever. He, the devil, who was nurturing feelings for Piper. Piper who was getting married, Piper who loved Jason and not him. He knew, he accepted it, then why couldn't he change anything? He wanted to take that heart out from his chest and examine it, just to make sure there was nothing wrong with the damn thing.

There was a small voice in his head, tempting him to do the worse. 'Go for Piper and forget Reyna. You won't be happy until you are with the one you truly love.' How could that little voice know who he truly loved? He thought he truly loved Reyna until recently…or did he? No, no, stop thinking like that! He loved Reyna but he wasn't so sure if he could still love her in the not so distant future. When the little voice turned louder, became more annoying, he would imagine the way Reyna would react if he left her and that seemed to cool him down. She would be devastated, losing yet another boy she loved to Piper.

No, he couldn't do this to Reyna. No, he shouldn't do this to Reyna. He had to be stronger than this. He had to crush that stupid little voice and put everything on nothing more than stress and this damn announcement of his two best friends getting married. He was, unfortunately, smarter than this and lying to himself no matter how many times would not save him. He was walking on a dangerous path and he was terrified of the outcome.

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><p><strong>Tell me what you think of the first chapter, please! These were mostly Leo's thoughts who will ignite a major plot branch of the story. Next chapter will be Reyna and we'll find out that Jason and Piper have problems in paradise but then again so do Percy and Annabeth. Review my sweets and you'll find out why! In the mean time, thank you for reading!<strong>


	2. Clients

**Here's the second chapter, lovelies! Gods this took forever to write and despite being so long I actually had to force myself to stop where I stopped. I thought that it would be a nice touch to say that Reyna, Annabeth and Jason all went to Yale. I guess they just seem like the Yale kind of characters haha. Since not all the chapters will concern the same character or couple I will change the character tags. I'm saying this because a lot of writers don't announce that and you might find yourself looking for a story through the character tag but not being able to find it. **

**Now to answer to the awesome people who reviewed:**

**Pasyon-Nicky-forever: I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Hope this chapter will be just as good :)**

**Jamie: You'll have the chance to see all of that haha. Like I said there will be a lot of couple possibilities.**

**hotinhighheels: Ah, Piper isn't exactly my favorite character from the series but I will try to be fair to her in the story. Yes there will be at least traces of Jeyna and Preyna beside the obvious Leyna. There will also be some surprise couples but I can give you any hints haha.**

** Sass: Preyna can be very interesting to write, they will have many chapters together in the fic.  
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**As always, I don't own anything, RR does.**

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><p>It was routine that kept Reyna from crumbling years ago when Jason disappeared but now she didn't need it anymore. The routine was still there but now she had a cute Latino Elf to brighten her days. She never expected, no one expected (okay maybe Percy expected), for her to fall so deeply in love with Leo. It wasn't normal, they were complete opposites and he was not her type. All these excuses that she used before made her laugh out loud in the present. It was the fact that they were such opposites that made their relationship work. They completed each other in the most beautiful way and she was grateful to have Leo by her side.<p>

She poured the coffee in his favorite mug before placing it on the table along with his breakfast. She didn't have time to eat with him today, a big client was coming to their law firm and Reyna was asked to assist in the meeting. If she could make it into the court she could start representing clients by herself soon enough. She checked her makeup and suit one last time in the mirror on their small hallway before glancing in the direction of their living-room. Leo had just walked out of the bathroom wearing a pair of boxers and an old t-shirt, messy dark hair covering most of his sight while toothpaste fell from his mouth as he tried to brush his teeth.

"You're going to choke if you're not careful."

Reyna fought back a chuckle as she approached her boyfriend who blinked lazily at her before grinning, making more toothpaste to fall on their once clean floor.

"Youw wook gweat twoday!"

"Big client, have to do my best."

"Youw're ewen wwearwing wred lipstick!"

The red lipstick was somewhat of an insight joke between them. When Leo saw her wearing it for the first time he said she looked so hot that she could melt a whole damn iceberg. Well red lipstick did compliment absolutely every feature that she had. The black hair, the black eyes, the pale skin all seemed to come together with red lips. The joke was that Leo noticed that she only put on her "secret weapon" when she had an important day at work or when they were about to have a wild night. He always hoped her reason would be the later.

"Okay, time for me to go. Breakfast is on the table, I'll call if I'll be staying in late and most importantly-" She paused for a second before placing a big kiss on his cheek, leaving lip marks behind. There was no way she was going to kiss him on the mouth when he still had toothpaste and drool all over it. "-I Love you."

"Wuw yaw twoo! Gwood luck!"

With one last glance at Leo she walked out the door of their apartment and quickly made her way to the elevator. They lived in a pretty expensive complex and although she hated to admit it, Leo paid most of the rent. He kept telling her not to worry because money for him wasn't a problem, and it wasn't. He was a little genius, well that was obvious from a long time ago but now he was a little genius who made millions of dollars in just a day. There wasn't a company in this world who didn't want to buy his inventions. Best part of the deal? He could stay at home and do what he liked most without anyone pushing him around and still receive a ridiculous large amount of cash. The majority he donated to charities and he would only keep enough for him and Reyna to live a carefree life. She couldn't help but feel giddy thinking that Leo was planning for their future.

As she drove towards the law firm her mind drifted to the meeting they had about two weeks ago. It wasn't supposed to be something special, just four couples gathering at a small Italian restaurant. They talked, they laughed and they had a decent time until Piper just decided to drop the bomb on them. Well, Reyna had expected it and she no longer had any kind of feelings towards Jason but she still found herself reacting in a weird way. She felt…awkward, like she wasn't supposed to be there and be happy about the good news.

Leo seemed happy, so did Frank and Hazel but Percy and Annabeth just seemed uncomfortable. She knew that Percy had been hinting at becoming more than just Annabeth's boyfriend and the blonde girl had confessed to her that she wasn't ready for such a step. Ever since they went to Yale together the two girls had become close friends. They called the two along with Jason the Big 3Y, since they all opted for the same university. Reyna towards Law, Annabeth towards Architecture and Jason to Medical School. Despite the fact that Reyna and Jason could have gone to college in New Rome they chose Yale instead. It was part of the process of leaving the demigod life behind and starting fresh.

She parked her car in front of the imposing building and hurried inside, checking her hand watch several times. The owner of the firm, Davis Marshall was once part of the Twelfth Legion, a son of Mercury no less. She hadn't known until about two months ago when he pulled the sleeve of his shirt and revealed his tattoo. Reyna had decided to give up hers, it was the choice of every legionnaire and she didn't want to wake up in the morning and see the black marks on her arm. After telling who she was he immediately took interest in her skill as a lawyer. Obviously you couldn't write in your CV that you were the praetor of a whole legion, led an army towards the Doors of Death and was part of the group who defeated Gaea's forces. Well not unless you wanted to wear the white robe and live in a room with no windows for the rest of your life.

"Good, you're here!"

Jean, Marshall's secretary, quickly came to greet her as she was about to get in the elevator. They both climbed inside when the metal doors opened and Reyna pushed the button to the seventh floor.

"He'll be here in half an hour with the client. He asked for your presence in the meeting room. Something about a-"

"Yeah, I did my homework. Carl Westwood, owner of the Westwood Bio products. His wife wants to divorce but she won't be satisfied until she brings down the company. He cheated on her with all the maids they had so far and they weren't few."

Jean gave a bitter laugh and shook her head. "You know I can't help but want her to win the case. These men need to get it through those thick skulls that they can't just cheat on us and get away with it."

"Most of them do though." Because most didn't really love their wives and girlfriends and thus the consequences of their infidelity left them cold.

The elevator's doors opened and Reyna walked quickly to her office trailed behind by the older woman. She had just half an hour to go through the paperwork just one more time, although truthfully she knew it by heart by now.

"Calm down, you'll be fine. You've worked hard for this and Marshall will put you on the case."

Jean gave her a wink to which Reyna responded with a smile. She had barely time to read the documents once when the doors of the elevator opened and Mr. Marshall stepped outside being followed by an army of lawyers. Westwood was walking in the middle of the mass and looked quite grumpy.

Reyna stepped outside her office and put on her sweetest smile as Marshal stopped in front of her and introduced the brunette. "Mr. Westwood, I would like you to meet one of the best lawyers of this firm, Reyna Clarence. Don't be fooled by her young appearance, she's a lioness in the court."

"Mr. Marshall just likes to exaggerate. However, please don't think too much of my age. What I lack in experience I make up for in the knowledge and stubbornness departments."

Westwood gave a small chuckle and squeezed her hand, a trace of interest glittering in his otherwise dull eyes. "Well after such a presentation I can't help but expect a lot from you, Miss Clarence."

"Please, call me Reyna, Mr. Westwood."

"You're name means, Queen, right? Then if you insist you must also call me Carl."

This innocent flirting was needed in this line of work. She was sure that Carl would have liked for her to be more than just his lawyer but Reyna never went past the polite and sweet smiles. She wouldn't date this guy even if Gaea threatened to wake up again.

Mr. Marshall led them towards the meeting room and just before she stepped inside, Jean pulled her by the arm to whisper something in her ear.

"There's a guy waiting for you. He said-"

"I don't have time now. If it's important tell him to wait."

Once Reyna entered, the doors of the meeting room were closed and only reopened about two hours later when Carl had accepted to work with their firm. Mr. Marshall himself was going to represent him and Reyna will be his back-up.

She let herself to collapse in her armed chair and grinned madly. Well there was no time to relax, she got her chance but she'll have to work hard if she truly wanted to shine. There was a knock on the door and Jean came in looking quite happy.

"Congratulations, sweetie!" She walked towards the brunette girl and gave her a big hug. "You really deserve it even if that scumbag shouldn't win." They both laughed but Reyna decided not to comment on the fact that she agreed with Jean. First thing they thought you in Law School, leave personal feelings and beliefs behind.

"Oh, that guy is still waiting for you. I've took the liberty to move him in the sitting area. He was attracting way too much attention in the lobby."

Reyna blinked in confusion wondering who could be waiting for her or more importantly who would have the patience to wait for her for almost two hours.

"Is McDreamy your boyfriend? You never talk much about your personal life."

The brunette girl walked passed Jean, curiosity getting the best of her. She doubted Leo was the one the older woman was talking about. While Reyna found him to be very handsome and cute, most women wouldn't describe Leo as "McDreamy".

Almost jogging to the sitting area she came to an abrupt halt when she saw the figure of none other than Jason Grace occupying one of the couches. Now she understood very well why Jean said he was getting too much attention. In his mid-twenties, Jason looked like every girl's dream of prince charming. The gods really have blessed him with everything from looks to wits to luck. Despite being so young he was already a surgeon in a private hospital (they literally agreed to let him skip the intern part because he was that good). Everywhere he went Jason turned heads and no one could ignore his presence. The whole wonder boy act kind of annoyed Reyna, made her remember why she used to call him wonder brat when they were younger.

"Urm, Jason?" Upon hearing his name the young man bolted from his seat and stood straight. "Sorry to have kept you waiting. I had a meeting so-"

"No, don't worry about it. I came here unannounced anyway."

Come to think of it, why in the world was he here? She and Jason had stopped being friends a long time ago. At first he blamed it on her because Reyna didn't trust him anymore after he came back in camp with Piper. She suspected that what actually bothered the boy was that she didn't give him time to choose between her and the daughter of Aphrodite, she made the choice for him. She didn't regret it though, Jason was always bad when it came to taking decisions in stressful situations and her pride just wouldn't let her wait for any man. After she and Leo got together Reyna really hoped that her relation with the blond boy would improve but it just got worse. Jason barely talked to her during group gatherings so Reyna had stopped trying as well.

"Urm I know you're probably really busy but I was wondering if we could go some place to talk."

His words kind of left her confused but she nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah, sure. I was about to head out for some coffee and something to eat. Didn't get the chance to have breakfast yet. There's a small coffee shop just across the street-"

"Great! Let's go!"

Reyna didn't have the time to respond, the blond boy grabbed her hand and began to drag her along. At first she was too shocked to react but then she quickly drew her hand back and arched a brow elegantly. "Jason, do you even know where you're going?"

He stopped abruptly and turned to look at her with red cheeks before rubbing the back of his head in a sheepishly way. "Sorry, I just came here right after my night shift so I'm barely awake."

"Then shouldn't you be home sleeping?"

Jason's azure eyes suddenly got darker and Reyna understood immediately that this wasn't a subject he wanted to discuss. "Well, let's get that coffee."

Their short walk to the café made the brunette girl to mumble under her breath. _Everyone _was staring at them. Okay, not at them, just at Jason. Damn him and his godly looks, she swore she heard a few women whistling as they walked passed them on the sidewalk. When they stepped inside the café, Jason bent down and whispered softly in her ear.

"Can you find us a table, I'll order."

She didn't bother arguing with him, mostly because in his hurry to get away from the firm she had forgotten to take her wallet and thus didn't have money to pay anyway. She found a free table in a corner, right next to the window and sighed in relief. Usually this place was packed, most of the time Reyna just grabbed her drink and returned to her office in order to enjoy it.

She sat down and about five minutes later Jason joined her as well with two drinks and a plate filled with bakes sweets. "What's this?" Reyna arched her brow as he placed the food in front of her.

"You said you didn't have breakfast. This is the most important meal of the day."

Reyna just stared blankly at him before taking her drink. "This is hot chocolate not coffee."

"Yeah, didn't you use to love hot chocolate?"

"Jason, that was-" She stopped herself and took a sip from the drink. "Hot chocolate is fine."

They just stood there in an uncomfortable silence until Reyna couldn't take it anymore and cleared her throat. "If I wanted a silent coffee…hot chocolate break I would have invited the mime from the nearby park."

"Ah, s-sorry. Sorry, obviously, I've asked you here so I can talk to you but then I go quiet. I'm such an idiot." He heaved a deep sigh and let his palm to slide across his face in frustration. "I forgot how to talk to you. We used to talk about everything. Why is it so difficult to do the same now?"

"Jason, that was years ago. Things changed."

"Why did they change? Why did they have to change? We were doing great until Juno decided to take me away."

"We've been through this already, she had to otherwise Gaea would have won the war."

"Yeah and it doesn't matter how many lives she had to screw in the process."

Reyna didn't like where this conversation was leading and the day seemed to go so well until now. "Jason, what's wrong? What's bothering you?"

He looked dead serious at her before he opened his mouth and said something that shocked the brunette.

"I don't want to marry Piper." She just stared at him unable to reply so Jason took advantage and continued. "It was okay to be with her when I was sixteen but not now, now she just drives me crazy. All the expectations she has and gods forbid you don't reach them, then the crying and the complaining starts. She doesn't listen to me, it's like talking to the walls yet she whines that I never give my opinion on anything." He huffed, his face turning red as though he had run for miles.

"Jason, you're just getting cold feet. It's perfectly normal-"

"No, it's not! Reyna, don't treat me like I'm a kid. I came to talk to you because you're the only one who can be objective."

"But I am being objective! Listen, you're doing a terrible mistake, all couples have problems but running away from them isn't the solution."

"I don't plan on running away, I want to explain it to her that we can't go on like this. A few weeks ago she starts crying that I'll never marry her and the stupid me tries to calm her down by saying that we will marry soon and what does she do? Takes it as a proposal and without any kind of warning she tells everyone that we're getting married. It's like she's forcing my hand!"

Reyna began to massage her temples and sighed. She was not good at giving advices when it came to these kind of problems and she wondered why people even bothered to come talk to her. First Annabeth and now Jason, she was starting to think that the dream couples weren't so dreamy after all.

"I'm sure you're exaggerating. I think that what you lack is communication. Talk to Piper, she'll listen, you'll see. You'll get married when you're good and ready and she'll understand if you sit down and calmly explain it to her. She loves you so much."

Jason looked unconvinced but still offered her a small smile. "It's good to talk you again, Rey. You have no idea how much it helps and how much I missed it." Reyna flinched when she heard the nickname but tried her best to return the smile. Now she just wanted to go home, take a shower and then crawl into Leo's arms. He probably won't be happy to hear that his two best friends had problems in paradise but maybe he could talk to Jason and convince him not to take any rash decisions.

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><p><strong>Next chapter will be Percy and Ananbeth from Percy's PoV and a little <strong>**make-out scene. The third chapter will be the last from the "preparation" chapters, after that the real drama starts. I also plan to include some Chris and Clarisse fluff and maybe some other couples beside the obvious popular ones. You'll never guess who Drew ended up with. Anyway, review loves! Reviews always motive me to write faster. Thank you for reading!**


	3. Notes

**Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, I wasn't too sure how to write this new chapter because I feel like I had a lot to explain yet wanted to jump to the important parts already. I feel like I've rushed it a bit but meh, I want the action to get going already. Thank you for reviewing everyone and hopefully you'll keep them coming! 3**

**Disclaimer: As always, I don't own anything other than my own plot ideas.  
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><p>Percy opened the door of the apartment and carefully poked his head inside as though he was expecting a flying pan to be thrown at him. To say that things had been rough between him and Annabeth ever since that dinner two weeks ago would be an understatement. Recently all they did was fight, make-out and then fight again. He knew Annabeth wasn't ready for the big step but he was afraid of losing her and he didn't know why that damn ring and ceremony would calm him down but the thought of the blonde girl as his wife and mother of his children had been in his head ever since he was a teen.<p>

Heaving a sigh of relief he closed the door and took off his shoes before tossing his suitcase on a nearby chair. He removed his coat and threw it carelessly on the couch before walking to the fridge and taking out a bottle of beer. He had a rough day at school and mid-terms were just around the corner. No one expected Percy to become a teacher but he always thought the job suited him. Teaching Greek mythology at a private school and being the coach of the swimming team made him feel like was accomplishing more than when he was out there fighting monsters and saving the world.

He took a sip from his beer as his listened carefully at the noises coming from the bathroom. Seconds later the door was opened and Annabeth stepped out wearing nothing more than a towel. Her beautiful blonde hair was wet making her look incredibly sensual, her face was flushed and her gray eyes were clouded by deep thoughts. The image made Percy grin like an idiot but when Annabeth turned to stare at him the expression quickly disappeared.

"You're early." She told him with a blank look while walking to their bedroom. Percy quickly followed her and stared at the blonde girl as she removed the towel. After years of living together the image of her naked body was nothing new to him yet each time he found it more appealing and delicious than the last.

"Parents meeting was canceled because of the heavy rain. In other words the parents were too busy with their million dollar companies and businesses to care enough about their kids."

Annabeth dressed in her usual home attire, a pair of shorts and a large Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What is it with you and people who work? You always get bitter when talking about parents."

"Urm I work too remember? I'm just pissed that they care so little about their children's future."

"Oh wow now you can tell a person doesn't care about their child just because they didn't attend a parent's meeting? " She crossed her arms and glared at him and Percy deeply regretted ever opening his mouth.

"How did this turn into a fight? Why are you so angry at me recently?"

"You know very well why!" Her face was now red and Percy had a feeling it wasn't because of the shower she took. "You and your fixed ideas! It's like you think every single career oriented person is the devil's spawn or something!"

"First of all, I think we've been in the demigod business long enough to know that it's Hades. Second, I just want the parents to be more interested in their kids, there's nothing wrong with that."

"You're judging people without even knowing them and you're always oh so sarcastic. Typical you to poke a joke in such a serious conversation."

"What serious conversation? We're not talking about-"

"Oh wait, I forgot! We never have a serious conversation!"

"That's because when I want to be serious you always get angry for one reason or another and you start screaming pretty much like how you're doing now!"

They were screaming at each other…again and frankly he was starting to get very tired of this habit they recently began to develop.

"I know what this is about. You can't still be mad that I've asked you when you were planning to take our relationship further."

"Of course I'm still mad! Percy, you never listen to me. I told you I wasn't ready but when you heard Piper that night the way you looked at me made me feel guilty and I shouldn't feel guilty because I'm not ready." She let her arms fall numbly near her body and stared at her feet, small tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Percy couldn't stand seeing many things. He couldn't stand the sight of monsters, demigods fighting, the gods being their usual prideful selves, his friends getting hurt but above all he simply could not stand seeing Annabeth crying. She had suffered so much in her life that all he wanted was to make her smile every second of every minute of every hour that they spent together. It was even more agonizing to know that he was the reason for her tears.

He quickly placed his bottle of beer on the nearby table and crossed the distance between them before placing a kiss on top of her head. Her wet hair tickled his nose as he deeply inhaled her scent and shivered from head to toe. For a few moments he was satisfied with just holding her but then he gently took hold of her chin and tipped it upward in order to stare into her eyes.

"I'm sorry Wise Girl, you know I am. I want us to be more but I don't want you to feel pressured or get hurt in the process. It kills me slowly every time we fight, I just hate it so much."

"I know, I'm sorry too Seaweed Brain." She offered him a small smile and he quickly mirrored it. Then, slowly, he leaned forward and captured her lips in a tender kiss. At first it was sweet an innocent but it quickly turned into something more primordial and deeper. By the time they pulled away in order to breath both their faces were painted red and their bodies were more than ready for the next step.

Percy gently picked her up from the floor and carried her to their bed before lying her down on her back and placing butterfly kisses on her soft skin. Annabeth moaned under his lips as her hands reached for his shirt and almost ripped it open. That's how it always went, first the fight and then the love making. Percy only wished that they could just skip the first part all together.

Under the sea blue sheets it felt like they had entered a world of their own where nothing and no one else but themselves mattered. As flesh met flesh and lips crushed against one another all their problems seemed to melt away leaving behind only the primal desire and need. About an hour later, the brunette boy had fallen into a deep sleep, not so much from being tired after their previous activity but because he was afraid of the conversation that would follow after.

Annabeth stared at him as he slept unaware of what will happen next. She had tried her best to tell him but unintentionally she had gotten angry again. What he didn't understand was that she was angry with herself and not him. She was angry that she couldn't gather her courage and tell him that she was leaving. That she received a job offer for a year in Turkey in order to work for the restoration of the Roman Theater in Ephesus. It was her biggest project yet, her dream job and yet she felt bitter at the thought of leaving him. All she could do was write him a note…a god damn note and then disappear from their apartment. All her bags had been prepared in advanced and if it wasn't for their little fight he might have noticed that her things were missing. She kissed him one last time on the forehead and he mumbled happily in his sleep. When he would wake up tomorrow morning, when he will not find her anywhere in their apartment, when he would stare at her note and feel like Zeus himself stroke him down with lighting she would be far gone, flying over the ocean towards another continent.

As a coward she fled in the middle of the night because all she wanted was the rediscover herself. Because she was tired of being the girlfriend of the great hero and she wanted to be Annabeth the architect who worked on one of the world's greatest restoration projects. Because she was selfish, because she was prideful but most importantly because she loved him so much that she had to let him go. They had fallen into routine and from the great hero he once was he became nothing more than the average teacher with a shitty salary and even worse working hours. He had moved out of camp for her because she wanted to attend school, to go to university, to get a job and he followed because he loved her.

One day maybe he would find it in the goodness of his heart to forgive her and one day maybe she would gather her courage and come back in order to explain why she left in the first place. Why she thought she was giving him back his freedom but not understanding that by doing so she was making him suffer.

Wasn't life easy when all they had to do was kill monsters and save the world? She wished…no, they wished they could go back to that.

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><p><strong>Here are some tissues for your tears lolol. Okay don't worry, she hasn't walked out of his life forever, she'll be back soon but oh well you'll have to read on and see for yourself what happens. <strong>**I did promise you a lot of different pairings didn't I? Percabeth will happen at the end though so don't worry.  
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**Next chapter will be Piper and we'll find out more about her relationship with Jason and something will happen between her and Leo. I'll try to update faster but reviews will definitely encourage me to write more. Come on guys, I plead you! I really wanna continue this story but I don't think it's popular enough and I'm unsure if I should invest anymore time and energy in it thus pretty please tell me what you think~  
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